The Cave Art of Lascaux

Deep underground near Montignac, France is a network of caves that contain some of the earliest, most impressive Paleolithic art ever found. And we have a dog to thank for this discovery.

In 1940, 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat was walking with his dog Robot, who found an entrance to a huge network of caves. The Lascaux Cave features over 6000 different drawings of Upper Paleolithic-era animals, people and abstract designs. The drawings are 17,000 to 22,000 years old.

The artwork in the Lascaux Cave contains some of the earliest known examples of depth and early perspective, which led Pablo Picasso, after visiting the cave, to say, “we have learned nothing in 12,000 years.”